Tips & Tricks: Campfire Cooking

We went camping Memorial day weekend and it was glorious! I left my phone at home at there was no Facebook, no texting, no emails - yep, not even work email!

You might have guessed that I really enjoy cooking on the campfire. I love any excuse to cook. I've learned a few tricks over the years about campfire cooking and so I thought I would pass those on to you!

1. Grilling: Get yourself a primitive grill. Ours only cost about $10 at Academy Sports and it really does make life so much easier. I love to use my primitive grill to cook corn on the cob and other veggies, hot dogs, burgers, chicken, steaks, basically anything you would cook on a grill at home! I just make sure to bring along my grilling tongs and spatula.
   
   
   
   
   
   We brought along a bag of charcoals. Depending on what I was cooking, I would throw in anywhere from 5 - 15 charcoals once the fire got going. Then I'd let the fire die out and cook over the hot coals, just like a normal charcoal grill!
   
   I marinated the chicken overnight in some Jamaican Jerk marinade (store bought) then cooked the chicken the first night we were there. That way I didn't have to worry as much about the temperature in the cooler.
   
   
2. Food Safety: And on that note, by this point you probably know how crazy I am about food safety (Tips & Tricks: Food Safety). This is something you need to keep in mind, especially if you are camping for a few days. You will probably need to replace the ice in your cooler at least once per day with about 8 -10 lbs of ice, depending on the size of the cooler. Try to limit the number of times you open the cooler and keep the cooler out of direct sun light, this will keep things cool. Keep foods that need to stay especially cold (eggs, raw meats, deli meat, etc.) toward the bottom where it's coolest. If you're worried about the eggs breaking, you can pick up a special plastic egg carrying case; we got ours at Walmart in the camping section for around $3. Keep the raw meats at the very bottom so they don't drip on anything else. Every morning, drain out the excess water from the bottom of the cooler, then dump a new bag of ice in. Around dinner time, check the cooler to see if it needs more ice. This will really depend on how much food you have, the size of your cooler, and the temperature outside. It was warm but not hot on our trip so we only needed to replace the ice once per day.
   
   In addition to keeping your food cool, you want to prevent cross contamination. Even if you're not cooking raw meat at any point in your trip, the risk is still there from other sources. The way that I mitigate this risk is by bringing along some hand sanitizer wipes such as Wet Ones. That way, if I touch anything that could be contaminated - raw meat, dirt, a piece of fire wood, the dog, etc. - I can just wipe my hands and I'm good to go!
3. Frying: When frying over the campfire, you can use cast iron or just a special campfire skillet. This skillet only cost around $10 at Walmart in the camping section. It's got a special handle that doesn't get hot. If you prefer cast iron, a good pan is going to cost you around $50. But it will last you for life and is worth the investment.
   
   
   I got some hot charcoals going, just like I did for the grill, and put the pan directly on the hot coals. I made bacon and pancakes the first morning. I actually dumped out the grease and used cooking spray to prevent the pancakes from sticking. But you could do it either way. By the way, I used the Bisquick shake and pour pancakes. Yeah, I know, I generally despise Bisquick or any other boxed mix, but they make camping so much easier!!
   
   
   
   
4. Food Prep: For breakfast the second morning I made a little egg bake type dish. I cut up the veggies ahead of time at home because that's way easier than having to bring a huge knife along and try to cut up the veggies at a picnic table. I cut up the veggies pretty small - about 1/2" dice - including the potatoes. Even though you're cooking on hot charcoals, getting adequate heat can still sometimes be a challenge. So if you cut your veggies nice and small, they'll cook quickly, even when the charcoals aren't as hot as you would like.
   
   First I cooked the sausage in my skillet. Then I left the sausage and drippings in the pan and added diced red pepper, onion, and potatoes. Once those were thoroughly cooked and soft, I added some whipped eggs and cooked it all together. Once the eggs were cooked, I removed the pan from the heat then topped the whole thing with shredded cheese and sliced scallions. You could hardly call that roughing it haha!
   
   
   
   
5. Mountain Pies: I first heard about mountain pies from some friends of ours who we going camping with quite frequently. These are so fun and they're great because everybody can make their own with whatever fillings they want. You just put a slice of bread in each side of the pie iron, add your fillings, clamp it shut, then cook it directly over the hot coals. They cost about $10 in the camping section at Walmart or around $20 at Bass Pro Shop. That being said, the ones at Bass Pro Shop are a lot heavier and more durable.
   
   
   
   
   We filled ours with cheese and pepperoni then dipped them in pizza sauce which I heated up in my little skillet. Yum! We also made some for dessert and filled them with canned apple pie filling.
   
   
6. Roasting Forks: One of the best tools we've picked up so far is roasting forks. They're just metal forks with long handles. They're great for roasting hot dogs or toasting marshmallows. That way you don't have to go hunting around for a long stick and pray that it hasn't been contaminated with poison ivy or animal urine. Yuck! They range in price anywhere from $1 per fork to about $3 per fork, depending on if you want a nice handle, etc. We got the crappy $1 ones haha.
   

   

   Lola & Matt toasting Marshmallows!

   
   

   
   
7. Bug Screen: Ok, this last one has more to do with eating than cooking but it's relevant. This is another tip that we picked up from our friends who told us about mountain pies. This 12' x 12' bug screen cost us about $50 at Academy Sports and it is the best investment we have ever made! We set it up around the picnic table and it makes eating so much more pleasant. No worries about bugs and it provides some shade too. There's even a hook on the ceiling so that you can hang a lantern for when you're eating in the evening.
   

   

   
   

Believe it or not, between all of that cooking we still found time to go hiking and peddle boating haha!

Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

Spanakopita is a traditional Greek snack. The name translates to spinach pie in English. It's made out of layers of delicate flaky phyllo dough and a filling made out of spinach, feta, onions, and egg. Sometimes it is made as one large pie and then individual servings are cut. It can also be made into little individual servings by folding the phyllo dough into little triangles. I prefer the latter preparation. It looks really nice and it makes for great little finger food when you're hosting a special occasion.

Spanakopita
Makes: 30 triangles

10 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
4 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
18 oz (2 boxes) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
pinch of salt
1 tbsp butter, melted

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions, garlic, scallions, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 - 6 minutes until the onions are soft but not brown.
• Transfer the onion mixture to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
• Take the thawed spinach and grab a small handful. Squeeze most of the moisture out of the spinach and then place it in the mixing bowl with the onion mixture. Repeat with the remaining spinach. This step sounds a little gross but it's very necessary. You'll be surprised how much liquid comes out and that liquid will make the spanakopita soggy if you skip this step.
• Add the feta and Parmesan cheese to the spinach and onion mixture. Mix it all together. Taste the mixture to make sure it doesn't need any salt. Add some if necessary.
• Once the seasoning has been adjusted, add the beaten egg to the spinach mixture.
• Now that the filling is done, you can start assembling the triangles. This is the most time consuming part of making these. First, open your package of phyllo dough. Wet a paper towel then wring it out as much as you possibly can. You want it just barely wet. Use the damp paper towel to cover the rest of the phyllo dough while you're working with a sheet. This will prevent the dough from drying out and cracking.
• Brush a baking sheet with the melted butter. Set aside.
• Take one sheet of phyllo dough and cut it into thirds length-wise with a pizza cutter.

• Place a small spoonful of filling at the top and off to the right of one of the strips.

• Now you'll need to start folding. You fold these like you would a flag. I'll explain. Grab the upper left corner and fold it down to the right so that you form a triangle at the top.

• Now take the top right corner and fold it straight down.

• Take the top right corner again and fold it down and over to the left.

• Take the top left corner and fold it straight down.

• Repeat until you get to the end and have a perfect triangle. Place it on the buttered baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining phyllo dough and filling.

• If you're making these a day ahead, you can stop at this step, cover it up with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it. Then place it in the oven the next day about an hour before you're ready to serve.
• Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes. The tops will start to brown pretty quickly. But don't worry, they won't burn, I promise.
• These are great served hot out of the oven or cooled to room temperature.

Blueberry Cheese Blintzes

In case you missed it, here's my first post about cheese blintzes which gives a little bit of background. Matt was begging me to make cheese blintzes again so I finally decided to oblige him. This time, I happened to have some dried blueberries hanging around so I decided to make blueberry cheese blintzes. The results were delicious!

Blueberry Cheese Blintzes
Makes: 8 cheese blintzes

Crepes:
2 cups milk
6 tbsp butter, plus more for cooking
3 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup flour

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese (1 brick), softened
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp dried blueberries

Topping:
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1/4 cup brown sugar

  

• To make the crepes, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt until the eggs are pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Set aside.
• Combine the milk and butter in a small sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir constantly until the butter in melted.
• In a slow steady stream, gently pour the hot milk mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly.
• Add the cup of flour to the egg and milk mixture. Gently whisk until just combined.
• Preheat a skillet over medium-medium high heat.
• Once the pan is very hot, add a small amount of butter to the pan, then ladle in about 1/2 cup of batter. Swirl the batter around in the pan so that it spreads to all edges.
• Cook for about one minute per side until dark brown.

• Once all of the crepes are cooked, make the filling. Whip together the cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixture or in a bowl with a hand mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg yolk and vanilla (save the egg white for later). Mix until well combined.
• With a spatula, fold in the dried blueberries.

• Place two tablespoons of filling in each crepe, about the size of a golf ball. Spread the filling along the middle of the crepe, then fold it in half. Then fold the ends in and continue rolling up the crepe; just like you would with a burrito.
• Now whip together the egg white and another egg.
• Once all of the crepes are assembled, hold the crepe with the seam side toward you. Dip the crepe in the egg, then the brown sugar.
• Lay the crepes, seam side down (sugared side up) in a lightly greased 13" x 9" glass baking dish.
• Bake at 375° F for 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. These are actually best served room temperature... If you can wait that long!

Easter Eggs

I'm a big fan of Pinterest. However, I have to admit that I don't really get the craze with making things homemade that (in my opinion) don't really need to be homemade. I mean, if all you're doing is mixing laundry detergent with some water and baking soda to make homemade Febreze, just buy the real thing!

That being said, I really do like making my own Easter egg dye. It's quite a bit cheaper than the kits and you have the flexibility to make an endless number of colors! Plus the kiddos will have a really great time making their own special color.

Since this dye requires hot water, I recommend using eggs that have just recently been hard boiled. You don't really want to cook the eggs, cool them down, then heat them up, then cool them down again. That's just asking for food poisoning. For instructions on how to make the perfect hard boiled eggs, see my recipe for Deviled Eggs. Food safety aside, here's how you make Easter egg dye!

  

1. Mix 1 cup of water with 1 tbsp white vinegar per color. For example, if you plan to make 6 different colors, you'll 6 cups of water and 6 tbsp of vinegar.
2. Bring the vinegar and water to a boil over high heat.
3. Meanwhile add 1 tsp of food coloring to the bottom of a coffee mug.
4. Pour 1 cup of the water mixture into each coffee mug. Mix with a different spoon for each color so that they don't mix and get all muddy.
5. Dip the eggs into the egg dye and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Use the spoon to move the egg around about half way through, this will ensure that the dye gets onto all sides of the egg.
6. Carefully remove the eggs with a spoon and place them on a plate lined with a paper towel or back in the original egg carton.

Deviled Eggs

As a precursor to my Easter Eggs post, I decided to give some step-by-step instructions on how to make the perfect hard boiled egg. It may seem counter intuitive, but you're not really supposed to boil them. I'll explain...

1. Place up to a dozen eggs in the bottom of a sauce pan (I don't recommend doing more than a dozen at a time).
2. Fill the pan with cold water to about one inch above the eggs.
3. Cover and heat on high just until the water starts to boil.
4. The moment the water starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat.
5. Place the pan either on a cold burner or a trivet on the counter top.
6. Let the eggs sit in the hot water, covered, for 10 minutes.
7. After 10 minutes, drain the hot water.
8. If you're going to eat the eggs hot, transfer the eggs to some cold water for about two minutes. This will make them cool enough to peel but they will still be hot in the middle.
9. If you're going to eat the eggs cold such as deviled eggs or egg salad, transfer the eggs to a bowl filled with ice water for about 10 minutes. Then move the eggs to the refrigerator for at least one hour to completely cool.

This gentle cooking method will ensure that the eggs are perfectly cooked and you don't get that green ring around the yolks.

Ok, now that you know how to make the perfect hard boiled egg, here's my recipe for deviled eggs!

Deviled Eggs

Makes: 24 deviled eggs

1 dozen hard boiled eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp celery salt

paprika

• Cut the eggs in half length-wise. Remove the yolks and place in a bowl. Set the whites aside.
• Mash the egg yolks with a fork.
• Gently mix in the mayonnaise, mustard, onion, garlic, and celery salt.
• With a spoon or a piping bag, fill the egg whites with egg yolk filling.
• Sprinkle the eggs with a little bit of paprika. You'll want to wait on this step until right before you serve the eggs. Otherwise the paprika will stain the egg whites a strange purple color. It doesn't change the flavor, it just looks a little weird.